Ciaran Hinds - Profile of Irish Actor in MIami Vice Movie

This Irish actor has played such epic roles as Julius Caesar and Albert Camus, but he is just at home in the world of Persuasion and Jane Eyre, or maybe he might take a turn in such big Hollywood movies as Munich and The Road To Perdition. As for right now, you can catch him in the latest summer action movie, Miami Vice, where he stars alongside fellow Irishman Colin Farrell.

For all that though, he regularly lends his acting skills to much lower budget films back home in Ireland, and whilst this unassuming Belfast man may be one of the most famous Irish actors working today, many might be hard pressed to recall his name – and that’s probably the way Ciarán Hinds prefers it.

Born in Belfast on February 9, 1953, he was the youngest of five children and the only son. His father hoped that Ciarán would follow him into the world of medicine, but his mother Moya, an amateur actress, noticed that Ciarán was looking in another direction and encouraged him to follow his dreams of becoming an actor.

He did start studying Law at the prestigious Queens University in Belfast, but he soon left to start his education as an actor at RADA – the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art – in London, although his first big break on stage was at Glasgow Citizens Theater, where he played the rear end of a horse in Cinderella.

He quickly stepped out of the horse costume and took part in many productions over the following years, including the lead in Arsenic and Old Lace and Faust, and managed to win the ultimate prize by joining the ranks of the world famous Royal Shakespeare Company, where he soon played the infamous villain Richard III when they took Shakespeare’s play on a world tour.